[There is a long pause as Alucard searches for the right words to explain this all and do it concisely.]
There are several options, most will bring stability but a slightly different change to the rules of how this part of the world operates. I would change nothing, and for that there is debate.
More than that, it is a crown no one desires. So it will likely fall to me due to blood.
Less rules, you mean. Dracula always did run a tight fucking ship.
[ Less rules is bad. Dracula is an evil fucking asshole, but the Belmonts have known for a long time that he holds the vampires to at least some standards. Europe was a mess for a few decades after he left - the measures that had to be taken by his family are a large part of why so many other vampires followed him. ]
Do you think you can keep this shit under control?
[There's maybe one or two people that Alucard would trust with the city. Theodora's name was put forth and she's entertained the notion, but confided him already that she would not wish for it. A shame because he'd give her that support without question.
The answer to Trevor's question depends on one thing only: time. How long his father is away. If it is short, then there will be no problem. But if not then...then it becomes dicey.
And what would you ask of me, other than presumably not stabbing you? I'm not going to be leaving a city that's on the verge of vampire bullshit in any way other than posthumously.
[ He's picked up the bread again by now, tearing his way through it again. ]
Which is still an option I'm considering, just to keep you aware.
[There is an instinctive cringe as Alucard gets a good look at how bad that hand is. He asks Sypha to come in, and soon one cringe is joined by two. It's bad. It's really bad.
Still, Alucard takes it, and he is as ginger as possible as he inspects the full of the damage. Lowly he mutters, my mother would've had Damien destroyed for this, then sighs.]
I rather hope you pass out from the agony of this. It'll be easier for all of us.
And yet if desperate measures are needed? I doubt anyone else fucking remembers how.
[ He grins at that, and it's the grimmest fucking thing there is in a city full of fucking vampires. ]
Good fucking luck with that.
[ He chokes with pain at it, but that grin only grows wider and he doesn't break eye contact with Alucard. This is a fucking contest now. He's going to stay awake out of spite. ]
And Alucard ignores that grin and the eye contact. This requires concentration, and that means nose down, eyes on the impacted body part and impacted part alone.
It is easier to focus on this than everything else tied up in having the Belmont here now. He'll have an unwanted houseguest. He'll have to contain the Belmont, because to let him wander the castle's halls would be to endanger his father and himself. Political pawn as the man may be, he is also still a threat to Alucard's safety if all goes so very wrong. Sypha won't like it, Alucard doesn't already, and they're going to have such a long talk about this when Trevor's...well, contained, because that will be the only thing they can do for the time being.
[ He remains silent, for the most part, and glaring until the thumb. The thumb is the worst, was the worst first time around and remains worst now. The hardest to break, needed a few strikes even with vampire strength behind the blow. The hardest question to answer (where is your family). And the hardest to move back into place. The yell begins halfway through it and it's muffled until he bites through his lip and then it isn't muffled. It continues until he runs out of air and it dies first into choking, and then into silence.
The rest of the work is easier with Trevor passed out. All bones are reset and Trevor will wake up with a plaster cast around his hand and up to his elbow. Sypha gets Trevor's shoes off, and it's at that point she discovers exactly how swollen the ankle is. (It's incredible he could stand at all she manages before Alucard shoots back that it was probably powered through spite.)
But that leaves the question of what do we do? A question that migrates them both to the kitchen where they both very much need something to eat, and the Belmont is left on the bed again.
Except in the heat of debate, the door is unlocked.]
[ He doesn't sleep well, which is likely no surprise. And it's a good thing he has the cast, because he wakes up by thrashing himself onto his side and on top of the bad arm.
Fuck.
He's being held prisoner by a vampire who doesn't fucking know how to vampire, and who's going to get an entire city wrapped up in the bloodier kind of vampire politics because he's too fucking soft.
With some effort (he has to use the wall to support his weight to get close, and then reach up for it while balancing on one foot) he does, in fact, pull down the curtain pole. Not as a stake, just yet, but as a crutch. And he'd been meaning to try to bash the door down but it just- opens.
A vampire who really doesn't know how to fucking vampire.
He doesn't try to get attention, though the sound of his curtain pole crutch is not exactly subtle, instead wandering off in search of something. A writing implement. A surface to use it on - the floor of his 'cell' will function well enough if necessary. And sand, or rice, or salt. Something made up of grains. ]
[They are halfway through yet another circular discussion of how to deal with this man in a way that doesn't scream prisoner but protects the castle from too much exploration that there's a noise. Then Alucard sighing. Then Sypha joining him, because this discussion must be put on hold. The Belmont is awake, Alucard's only halfway done with making dinner, and Sypha's the one who goes to drag the Belmont into the kitchen, in the end.
(One discussion was how exactly did they want to let him meet Sypha, given all the fuss about free will. As it turns out, they don't get a choice in the matter.)
Alucard has just enough time to get a third plate down from the cupboard, and he's doing that by floating when Trevor is guided in. Because what good are vampire powers if you can't use them for the real tasks of life?]
[ Sypha, to her credit, is about as gentle and careful as could be expected. Trevor is not. ]
I wasn't going to do anything stupid.
[ He grumbles, as if he's demonstrated thus far that not doing stupid things is something he has the capacity for. And then he's guided into a chair. And there's a third plate and-
This is the stupidest fucking thing. ]
I feel like you've a fundamental misunderstanding of what it generally means when a vampire invites humans for dinner.
You were going to be mapping this castle for your family's notes. I am not so foolish as to let a Belmont wander these halls freely.
[Three plates it is. Then Alucard walks over to the stove and retrieves a pot from it. Takes the lid off, and there's the scent of fresh rice that overtakes the room. Each plate gets a hearty pile of it, and Alucard's focus is on getting things set, not on dealing with Trevor's mouth.]
My family has no fucking notes anymore. Your father burned the library to ashes.
[ His eyes narrow, but he's not reaching for any of the cutlery, chair legs or his curtain pole. ]
Also, wrong.
[ He was going to map the CITY, thank you very much, and use belmont bullshit to figure out what the state of things is. You know. That thing he should have probably done before all of this happened. ]
Dracula destroyed the Belmont home. Everything inside it, everything below it, and every man and woman and child there.
[ And he says every word very, very slowly, because he doesn't have the greatest faith in the intelligence of a vampire who doesn't know how to vampire. ]
That is physically impossible. My father did not leave this city from the time the war began until it concluded and then some.
[Alucard pauses in his dinner preparation to look Trevor in the eye. Because this is a truth.
And if that is a truth, then he has accidentally forced Trevor to confront one even more terrible. If this destruction was not done by his father, then that home is also a casualty of the water.]
There are hunters in the city with no love for him that will vouch for the presence of Dracula here. My father was certain that Europe's plague would spread to the Americas, and he would not see this place destroyed for it.
That means nothing. You know that means nothing. He could have done it in a matter of hours.
[ He says that, but- he's still not reaching for the cutlery. He believes himself when he's drunk. He doesn't when he's sober. He knows full well that the Belmont home was just another casualty of Romania's defiance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A remote, self-sufficient stronghold that looked a little too much like it could house soldiers. ]
Your family would know better than any other how vampires fare with ocean crossings, Belmont. Even at my father's age, such a trip would take weeks.
[Alucard returns to getting dinner on the table. Chicken comes out of the cast iron skillet, large leg and thigh quarters for each plate. There are steamed collards taken from another pot, and that too goes on the plate.
It's terrible, the contrast. But it is how things are. Alucard puts the plates down at the table (there are, helpfully, four chairs at the round table), and then goes to grab a third set of utensils.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
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[He's also serious.]
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[There is a long pause as Alucard searches for the right words to explain this all and do it concisely.]
There are several options, most will bring stability but a slightly different change to the rules of how this part of the world operates. I would change nothing, and for that there is debate.
More than that, it is a crown no one desires. So it will likely fall to me due to blood.
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[ Less rules is bad. Dracula is an evil fucking asshole, but the Belmonts have known for a long time that he holds the vampires to at least some standards. Europe was a mess for a few decades after he left - the measures that had to be taken by his family are a large part of why so many other vampires followed him. ]
Do you think you can keep this shit under control?
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[There's maybe one or two people that Alucard would trust with the city. Theodora's name was put forth and she's entertained the notion, but confided him already that she would not wish for it. A shame because he'd give her that support without question.
The answer to Trevor's question depends on one thing only: time. How long his father is away. If it is short, then there will be no problem. But if not then...then it becomes dicey.
So he lies:]
Yes.
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[ He's picked up the bread again by now, tearing his way through it again. ]
Which is still an option I'm considering, just to keep you aware.
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[He's firm about that. That much is so very certain.]
Hm. I'd wonder why you haven't done the act yourself, but I presume you're religious enough to not consider that option.
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[ His voice lowers into a snarl at that. ]
Fuck off with that shit. I meant I was considering the option of stabbing you. And you're not doing much to change my fucking mind.
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[Bite him, Belmont.]
You are not the only hunter in this city, never mind the country. [But he'll take the point.]
Hand out. I'm getting sick of looking at how askew your hand is. That's the first thing I'm going to ask of you.
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[ But he does hold out his hand, mangled into a rather unpleasant shape. ]
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[There is an instinctive cringe as Alucard gets a good look at how bad that hand is. He asks Sypha to come in, and soon one cringe is joined by two. It's bad. It's really bad.
Still, Alucard takes it, and he is as ginger as possible as he inspects the full of the damage. Lowly he mutters, my mother would've had Damien destroyed for this, then sighs.]
I rather hope you pass out from the agony of this. It'll be easier for all of us.
[So he begins on resetting the first finger.]
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[ He grins at that, and it's the grimmest fucking thing there is in a city full of fucking vampires. ]
Good fucking luck with that.
[ He chokes with pain at it, but that grin only grows wider and he doesn't break eye contact with Alucard. This is a fucking contest now. He's going to stay awake out of spite. ]
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[Because Florence would.
And Alucard ignores that grin and the eye contact. This requires concentration, and that means nose down, eyes on the impacted body part and impacted part alone.
It is easier to focus on this than everything else tied up in having the Belmont here now. He'll have an unwanted houseguest. He'll have to contain the Belmont, because to let him wander the castle's halls would be to endanger his father and himself. Political pawn as the man may be, he is also still a threat to Alucard's safety if all goes so very wrong. Sypha won't like it, Alucard doesn't already, and they're going to have such a long talk about this when Trevor's...well, contained, because that will be the only thing they can do for the time being.
He keeps working in silence.]
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He has, in fact, passed out. ]
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The rest of the work is easier with Trevor passed out. All bones are reset and Trevor will wake up with a plaster cast around his hand and up to his elbow. Sypha gets Trevor's shoes off, and it's at that point she discovers exactly how swollen the ankle is. (It's incredible he could stand at all she manages before Alucard shoots back that it was probably powered through spite.)
But that leaves the question of what do we do? A question that migrates them both to the kitchen where they both very much need something to eat, and the Belmont is left on the bed again.
Except in the heat of debate, the door is unlocked.]
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Fuck.
He's being held prisoner by a vampire who doesn't fucking know how to vampire, and who's going to get an entire city wrapped up in the bloodier kind of vampire politics because he's too fucking soft.
With some effort (he has to use the wall to support his weight to get close, and then reach up for it while balancing on one foot) he does, in fact, pull down the curtain pole. Not as a stake, just yet, but as a crutch. And he'd been meaning to try to bash the door down but it just- opens.
A vampire who really doesn't know how to fucking vampire.
He doesn't try to get attention, though the sound of his curtain pole crutch is not exactly subtle, instead wandering off in search of something. A writing implement. A surface to use it on - the floor of his 'cell' will function well enough if necessary. And sand, or rice, or salt. Something made up of grains. ]
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(One discussion was how exactly did they want to let him meet Sypha, given all the fuss about free will. As it turns out, they don't get a choice in the matter.)
Alucard has just enough time to get a third plate down from the cupboard, and he's doing that by floating when Trevor is guided in. Because what good are vampire powers if you can't use them for the real tasks of life?]
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I wasn't going to do anything stupid.
[ He grumbles, as if he's demonstrated thus far that not doing stupid things is something he has the capacity for. And then he's guided into a chair. And there's a third plate and-
This is the stupidest fucking thing. ]
I feel like you've a fundamental misunderstanding of what it generally means when a vampire invites humans for dinner.
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[Three plates it is. Then Alucard walks over to the stove and retrieves a pot from it. Takes the lid off, and there's the scent of fresh rice that overtakes the room. Each plate gets a hearty pile of it, and Alucard's focus is on getting things set, not on dealing with Trevor's mouth.]
I'm half vampire, and I need normal meals.
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[ His eyes narrow, but he's not reaching for any of the cutlery, chair legs or his curtain pole. ]
Also, wrong.
[ He was going to map the CITY, thank you very much, and use belmont bullshit to figure out what the state of things is. You know. That thing he should have probably done before all of this happened. ]
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...Sorry, what was that accusation?
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[ And he says every word very, very slowly, because he doesn't have the greatest faith in the intelligence of a vampire who doesn't know how to vampire. ]
He. Broke. The truce. And that is why I'm here.
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[Alucard pauses in his dinner preparation to look Trevor in the eye. Because this is a truth.
And if that is a truth, then he has accidentally forced Trevor to confront one even more terrible. If this destruction was not done by his father, then that home is also a casualty of the water.]
There are hunters in the city with no love for him that will vouch for the presence of Dracula here. My father was certain that Europe's plague would spread to the Americas, and he would not see this place destroyed for it.
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[ He says that, but- he's still not reaching for the cutlery. He believes himself when he's drunk. He doesn't when he's sober. He knows full well that the Belmont home was just another casualty of Romania's defiance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A remote, self-sufficient stronghold that looked a little too much like it could house soldiers. ]
He could still have done it.
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[Alucard returns to getting dinner on the table. Chicken comes out of the cast iron skillet, large leg and thigh quarters for each plate. There are steamed collards taken from another pot, and that too goes on the plate.
It's terrible, the contrast. But it is how things are. Alucard puts the plates down at the table (there are, helpfully, four chairs at the round table), and then goes to grab a third set of utensils.]
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